Sea Shells by the Seashore

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday weekend. Ours was very low key, we just hung out at the pool and try to stay cool. Unfortunately, we were not able to see any fireworks because San Antonio has a burn ban because of the drought we are currently in. It was very surreal not to at least hear them going off. Oh well, we'll just have to wait until New Year's Eve, which believe it or not is a HUGE fireworks night around here!
Now before I get to today's card, I wanted to just chat a bit about my blog. Hopefully, if you are a follower you can see that I have made some changes and added a few new things over on the side bar. I encourage you to take a little look and do some exploring. This is, and always will be, my stamping/paper crafting blog; but I just thought I'd give everyone a little glimpse into other things I do and enjoy, such as reading and reviewing great books (and sometimes not so great) I've read. My twitter feed is a great way to get to know more about me as well! You'll also see that I've put a little widget on here for the "Networked Blogs" You'll also see that I currently am the only one following my blog....sad but true at the moment! This is a new feature for me that I added because I've seen it on other blogs. If you are a "Network Blog" member and feel so inclined to follow me, I would be ever so grateful.

Ok, so I'm linking today's card to a TON of challenges (well, at least a ton for me!) I really want to have time to explore the other wonderful creations out there, so I'm going to let the challenges fill in the details of the card.

Scrap-Creations: Summer

Make it Monday: Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly challenge: Anything Goes with buttons (optional)

Bows and Berries: Use Kraft Paper

KB Cute Monday: Anything Goes

My Partner in Crafting Crime: Beach Themed.

Squigglefly: Summertime

Mojo Monday: Sketch

Stamps R Us: There was a little girl...

Supplies used: There were other products listed as well, but I'm only providing links this time to ones that are currently available.






Have a fantastic day everyone and I'll see you soon!

More Embossing "For You"

Hi Everyone!!

Well, my embossing craze is continuing. I swear, it's like discovering a technique for the first time. It's amazing how you can be reinvigorated just by getting inspiration from other people. Once again I found mine with Jenn McGuire. I wanted to try her emboss resist on pattern paper technique. Now, I really really like this technique; but I can tell it's one that I need to practice a bit more because the key to this particular technique is finding the right pattern paper and ink combination. As you can see from my sample, it's very hard to see the pattern paper within my embossed sample. I stamped the image from SU's "Fresh Cuts" set on a piece of polka dotted pattern paper from Paper Studios "Mirabelle" collection. Then I embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I used my blending tool to apply some Antique Linen, and Vintage Photo distress ink. Finally, I took just a bit of "Fired Brick" distress ink and went over the image as well, to try to bring out a bit of the red that is in floral pattern paper in the background. Embossing is a great technique; but it does take a bit of practice and patience and that part in an of itself makes it very fun to do!

Ok, so quite a few challenges from Thursday and Friday for this card.

1. 4 Crafty Chicks: Stitching

2. AiFactory: Use your favorite embellishments: mine are buttons and flowers. Use them every chance I get!

3. Art Impressions Stamps: Distress

4. Deconstructed Sketch: Sketch #8

5. Inspire Me Fridays: Anything Goes

6. Bling it: Anything Goes (Monthly Challenge)


Card Supplies:

Happiness Always.

Hi Everyone!

Last night I was scrolling through Twitter as I usually am at some point and I came across a tweet from Jennifer McGuire in which she posted a blog about some different emboss resisting techniques. Some of the techniques were ones I was already familiar with and also a few that I had not seen before. I decided for today's card to just do the traditional emboss resisting on glossy paper. This is an easy way to make a great background. I stamp the Hero Arts Cling stamp "Flower Pattern." in Versa Mark ink on glossy paper and embossed with clear powder. Then I took my Ranger Industries blending tool and rubbed Crushed Olive Distress Ink across the image. That was just a bit too light, so I went back across it with a bit of Peeled Paint Distress Ink. I attached the background to Fine Linen and then that piece to a 5 1/2x 4 1/4 Simply Chartreuse base. I used Label 11 Nestabilities for the sentiment which is from the set "Whimsical Words" by Stampin Up! I edged the sentiment with some Tea Dye ink and also edged the base of the card with more Crushed Olive. I kept the card simple because I wanted to focus on the embossed background. So here are the challenges for today's card. Only a couple, so I may come back and see if I can add more later.

Divas by Design: Anything Goes
Creative Craft Challenge: Make your own backing papers.

I'm also including pictures and links for the products I used in this card. I hope to be able to continue this because I know I like it when I see it on other blogs. Just click on the picture and it will take you to a place you can purchase the product if you are interested.